


Deceptively Angelic

by Just_Another_Day



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Fluff, Gen, Sleepy Smaurent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 08:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20078941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_Another_Day/pseuds/Just_Another_Day
Summary: Laurent manages to unconsciously sway Damen's opinion of him.





	Deceptively Angelic

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 'Fall Asleep on my Shoulder' square of my Fluff Bingo.

"What's wrong?" asked Kastor from across the table. He wasn't even bothering to hide his smirk. "Don't tell me you're actually uncomfortable having a blond on your arm?"

Damen grimaced. That only seemed to amuse Kastor even more.

The room was full of Veretians and Akielons who were being more or less forced to intermix with each other. _No one_ was comfortable right then. But admittedly it wasn't the supercilious way the Veretians were pointedly making sure they were literally looking down their noses at their Akielon counterparts (which looked doubly ridiculous where the Akielons were taller than them), nor even the constant lurking feeling that the snakes _must_ have been plotting something among themselves under their collective breath, that had Damen sitting so straight-backed and tense. No, the actual reason for that was instead the small head that was currently pressing somewhat precariously against the curve of Damen's bare shoulder.

Damen should probably have objected to being suddenly reduced to acting as an impromptu pillow. But even so, he still didn't dare to move in case it jostled the boy and woke him. Granted, it might have been awkward to sit absolutely motionless for potentially hours on end, hyperaware of the feeling of small and even huffs of warm breath hitting Damen's upper arm and of the slight dampness of what Damen could only assume was drool. But Damen would still have preferred that over having Prince Laurent awake and back to glaring at Damen with his nose slightly scrunched, as though Damen had committed the terrible crime of stealing the last dessert out from under the nose in question.

Damen had no idea what he'd apparently done to get on the boy's bad side, other than existing. Nor would he even have been entirely certain that Laurent had a _good_ side at all if Damen hadn't unintentionally walked in on the two Veretian Princes earlier and seen Laurent reluctantly smiling at something while Auguste was grinning down at his brother broadly. To everyone else, Laurent had been stone-faced at best from the moment the Veretians had arrived in Ios this morning. Though Damen did have to wonder, in light of the current circumstances, whether Laurent might just have been too thoroughly exhausted from the long days of travel to manage to put on a strained smile like the rest of them had done. 

Auguste certainly seemed surprisingly personable. Perhaps his brother would prove to be the same, given the chance.

Father would tell him not to bother trying to come up with excuses for Veretians. That they were all just as terrible as they appeared on first glance. But, well… Laurent was all of twelve years old. It was hard to imagine that a boy that age was spending his time scheming about anything more than how to escape from the dry political fare that promised to overtake the next few days. That was certainly what Damen had been thinking about at the same age.

And, Damen could see even from this angle, Laurent looked quite sweet when he was asleep. Unfairly so. No Veretian should look _angelic_, of all things. His blond fringe was half-falling over his eyes, the tips catching on his long eyelashes. Damen risked moving just enough to reach his other arm over and brush the hair gently to the side. Laurent shifted slightly at the disturbance, but only to press his face more firmly into Damen's arm. Damen didn't realise his lips were curled upwards until he felt the smile fall away when Auguste appeared in front of Damen looking sheepish.

"Sorry about that," said Auguste, nodding in Laurent's direction. "He didn't sleep well on the ship on the way here. I'll take him up to bed."

Damen was about to say that he didn't mind – that Auguste could leave Laurent where he was, since Damen had found himself sort of enjoying the sight of the boy looking so soft – but he realised just in time how odd that would sound. It was strange even to Damen himself, especially considering how far it was from his thoughts on the matter just a short while earlier. 

What could he say? That surprisingly innocent young face was unexpectedly charming when it wasn't pinched into an annoyed expression. Prince Laurent had probably had the entire Veretian court wrapped around his finger for his entire life, looking like that. 

Laurent didn't seem to fully wake when Auguste scooped him into his arms with the ease of practice. He mumbled something that might have been his brother's name, but then immediately settled against Auguste's chest. Damen's breath caught slightly at the picture they made.

Had Kastor ever done that for Damen when they'd been younger? He must have. Damen obviously just couldn't remember it.

Damen watched Auguste convey his sleeping brother away, carrying him as carefully as if he were a priceless artefact.

When Damen had first felt Laurent's head come to rest against him as the boy slumped tiredly in Damen's direction, Damen would have welcomed having someone take the boy away. But surprisingly, Damen found he didn't actually feel all that relieved now that it had happened. And not just because he now had no excuse not to get up and interact with the other Veretians now, either.

Maybe Laurent would emerge after a good night's sleep still acting belligerent. But Damen found he was willing to at least hope that it might not be _quite_ as terrible having the Veretians around for the next week as Damen had anticipated.


End file.
